RCH News

Volunteering inspired a career change for Ranjeet

Volunteering inspired a career change for Ranjeet

This month we’re celebrating our team of more than 600 dedicated volunteers at the RCH with our annual Volunteers Festival running from May 21-25.

We spoke to Ranjeet, whose experience as a volunteer inspired him to make a career change.

Ranjeet started volunteering at the RCH Emergency Department in 2011, providing support and distraction for patients and families.

Working in Public Relations and Communications at the time, Ranjeet volunteered every Saturday night, before becoming inspired to change career paths.

“I’d been volunteering for three years when I left my job to study nursing,” he said.

“I was in a corporate role at the time – my Mum trained as a nurse, so it had always interested me, but volunteering was what really made my mind up.”

“Everyone in the ED is so good at their job, it was something I wanted to be a part of – the team environment is amazing, everyone really looks after each other.”

In February 2018, Ranjeet started as a Graduate Nurse in the ED, a role he says volunteering helped him prepare for.

“It helped me develop communications skills, which are so important when dealing with patients and families and it definitely helped me to better understand both the environment and the family experience in ED,” he said.

“The interaction in volunteering and nursing roles is the same, but now I have a lot more responsibility to care for the patients medically, as well as providing support.

“What I enjoyed most is interacting with the kids, and helping them through tough times, and the most challenging thing is seeing young people who receive life-changing diagnoses or have a long journey ahead of them.

“And those things are the same for nurses and for volunteers.”

While Ranjeet is passionate about his new role, the RCH Volunteer Service is still close to his heart.

“I still volunteer, but on a more casual basis – I help in the cinema and the Family Hub and now I can support with training new volunteers, so I’m very lucky.”

If you’re interested in volunteering at the RCH, read more about the Volunteer Service and requirements here.